Genetics + Genomics

Researchers frequently turn to C. elegans to learn about not only their biology, but our own. C. elegans is one of the most intimately understood species in biology—the first animal to have its complete genome sequenced or its neural circuitry completely mapped. How did this simple worm become so well studied and a fixture in laboratories around the world?

A new paper from the lab of Whitehead Institute Director Ruth Lehmann reveals how primordial germ cells in flies migrate from one end of an embryo to the other during development. The work could have implications for how scientists study germ cells in vivo, as well as other motile cells such as cancer cells.

A new study from the lab of Whitehead Institute Member Sebastian Lourido uses a method called thermal profiling to determine which proteins are involved in calcium signaling, an essential process that parasites use when invading host cells.

A study on asymmetric cell division in fruit fly stem cells took an unexpected twist, revealing how a dividing stem cell “chooses” which of its daughters receives more ribosomal DNA in order to pass on enough of these essential genes to subsequent generations.

Whitehead Institute Member Jonathan Weissman and collaborators used their single-cell sequencing tool Perturb-seq on every expressed gene in the human genome, linking each to its job in the cell and creating a free resource for other researchers to address their own questions.

Research from Whitehead Institute Member Peter Reddien’s lab identifies a gene expressed in the skin that covers a wound as essential for regeneration to occur after large injuries in planarians.

A new screening method in the parasite Toxoplasma gondii allows researchers to look beyond whether or not a gene is essential to survival and track the gene’s product through time and physical space 

A pain-causing compound in the Australian stinging tree has applications for cancer treatment, but it’s difficult to harvest enough to study. Whitehead Institute scientists present a way to synthesize the compound in the leaves of harmless tobacco plants, and potentially in a culture dish.